


Rhythm in My Heart

by isnt_that_wizard



Series: A World Without Ghosts [6]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Alex and Reggie get pulled into her plan, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Exasperated Alex Reggie and Flynn, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Flynn Loves To Meddle, Flynn is a good friend, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, No Angst, Oblivious Julie Molina, Oblivious Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie and Flynn would be bffs fight me, Reggie is a Molina (Julie and The Phantoms), Romance, School Dances, Valentine's Day, WHO AM I???, can be read without the rest, juke, minor Willex, no ghosts, part of a series, perfect harmony, this has no angst???
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:13:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,649
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27840553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isnt_that_wizard/pseuds/isnt_that_wizard
Summary: “Yes. You’re definitely playing the dance.”“Okay? And how does that help us?”Alex pulled up Flynn’s house, parking in the driveway and shutting off the ignition.“Well, you can’t exactly play a Valentine’s dance without a love song. You guys don’t have any and no one wants to hear you guys do a cover. And since Julie and Luke are the writers in the band. . . I guess they’ll just have to write one together.”--------Julie and Luke have spent months now dancing around each other, neither willing to admit their feelings to each other. Alex, Reggie, and Flynn have all been watching from the sidelines and are getting sick of all the pining. So they decide to do something about it. Lucky for them, the Los Feliz Valentine's Day dance is coming up. They'll have the romantic atmosphere, a performance, two oblivious idiots in love. . . Now all they need is the perfect love song to give Luke and Julie one final push into each other's arms.can be read without the rest of the series
Relationships: Alex & Flynn & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Flynn & Alex & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina/Luke Patterson
Series: A World Without Ghosts [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971316
Comments: 20
Kudos: 233
Collections: Kelly's Picks





	Rhythm in My Heart

**Author's Note:**

> If you've never read this series before, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out what's going on.
> 
> Hi, I'm Faye. Here's a few things you might need to know, or maybe you just forgot: After his parents announced their divorce, Reggie achieved emancipation from them and is now living with the Molinas. About a month ago (January), the LFHS lacrosse team joined Julie's dance class, and Julie and Nick are partners for the class. Luke, finding this out, got jealous and mopey. Not wanting to deal with the two of them dancing around any longer, Alex and Reggie sat Luke down and finally got him to admit that he has a crush on Julie. Once he'd said the words out loud, Alex and Reggie asked him, "So what are you going to do about it?" in hopes that maybe he'll wise up and ask her out. Here the band is in February, still watching Julie and Luke pine over each other.

As it turned out, the answer was absolutely nothing. The answer to Alex and Reggie’s question of “What are you going to do about it?” when they’d  _ finally  _ gotten Luke to admit to the major crush he had on Julie was absolutely nothing. It had been near a month since Julie had gotten partnered with Nick in dance class and Luke had admitted his feelings to Alex and Reggie, and the pair of them had stayed just as hopeless as always. Luke was still being obnoxiously jealous when Julie talked about dancing with Nick, and Julie kept getting these  _ looks  _ on her face when she was around Luke, then blushing when she thought no one was looking anymore. 

It didn’t help that from what Reggie and Alex could tell, Julie had been getting closer to Nick. She took her breaks during practice to text him, regaled them with tales and reenactments of their dance class- she would borrow Alex as a Nick-substitute since she knew how much he loved dance, and even ditched them at least once a week or so to hang out with Nick during lunch instead of them. Julie was, at this point, continually happy that she had Nick as a dance partner. It was not making Alex and Reggie’s life any easier when it came to dealing with their bandmates. Luke was extra sulky about it all, and he even seemed to be  _ avoiding  _ Julie a little bit. When Ray would offer to have them stay for dinner after practices, Luke always had some excuse to get out of it. His most popular was that his parents had started trying to do more dinners as a family because Mitch’s work schedule had changed so he was home more in the evenings. It wasn’t a full lie; Reggie and Alex knew that his dad was indeed home more often around dinner time now. Emily, however, was not usually off from work during dinner on weekdays, so the concept of the Patterson family having a family dinner was unrealistic. Julie, however, didn’t seem to know that. 

For whatever reason, the lame excuses Luke came up with to not be around her that Reggie and Alex were able to see right through were being bought by Julie. Being bought, yes, but both of them took note about how with each one, Julie’s smile faded a little bit and her eyes trailed downward as she told Luke it was okay, and that she’d see him later. Over the past month, Julie had started inviting Luke to things less and less, and Luke steered clear of her outside of school and the band more and more. They were both being more hopeless than Alex and Reggie ever thought they’d have to deal with. It was all just getting more and more frustrating to watch. They hadn’t stopped bugging Luke about  _ asking Julie out already _ , but he managed to dodge the question or flounder his way through a half-answer every time. Alex and Reggie were starting to let it slide, picking up on the fact that it really was making Luke genuinely anxious. They just had to accept that Luke and Julie’s inevitable realization that they were both in love with each other was just gonna happen really. . . really. . . slowly. Six months now slowly. 

It seemed that even though they had started to accept the slow developments of their relationship, some other people were not so accepting. Namely, Flynn.

Flynn had cornered them both on a Thursday after band practice. Luke had dipped out early, for once telling the truth about having a family dinner- his aunt was coming to visit and he was being required to show his face. Alex and Reggie had stayed behind a little longer; Reggie wanted to tell Ray a story about something that had happened in chemistry and say goodbye and goodnight to his surrogate family, since he was spending the night at Alex's. Every time one of his children had a sleepover, even if it was something they had known for years, Ray gave the same "Be safe, make good choices" speech. 

Flynn had been around for practice, too, and when the boys were all finished and putting their shoes back on to leave, she had jumped up, quickly announcing that she was going to leave, too. Forgotten homework, she’d claimed, asking Alex if he’d drive her home. The drummer had frowned at her, curious, but agreed. It was once the three of them were all in the car, Reggie in the passenger seat and Flynn in the back middle one, that she revealed why she’d so suddenly wanted to get home.

Leaning forward as far as she could- Alex made a noise of protest at her lack of seatbelt making her able to do so- she placed a hand on both of their shoulders. 

“Okay, boys. Time to chat.”

Alex kept his eyes on the road, but Reggie turned around and stared at her out of confusion for the both of them. Flynn’s voice was matter-of-fact and calm in a way that usually meant one of them was in trouble. 

“We didn’t even do anything!” Reggie was already protesting, but Flynn just rolled her eyes and swatted his shoulder. 

“This isn’t about you! I’m talking about Julie and Luke. We need to do something before I snap and slap one or both of them into next week.”

Alex snorted a laugh at that. They should have known that Flynn would have been as fed up with their friends as they were. 

“And what exactly do you suggest?” Alex asked, glancing at her in the rear view mirror, knowing that she would most definitely have something in mind already. Sure enough, a smirk formed across Flynn’s lips, and she leaned in even closer. 

With a glance at the tenseness of Alex’s jaw, Reggie turned in his seat, pushing Flynn back so she was fully in her seat. The girl slumped in the seat and sighed, but obliged to Reggie’s stare and put her seatbelt on. 

“Lucky for us,” she continued her Julie-and-Luke talk, “Ms. Harrison asked me if the band would play at the dance next week.”

Alex and Reggie shared a glance. 

“Dance? What dance?”

Alex could see out of his mirror the way Flynn was looking between them, lips parted and disbelief in her eyes. 

“What the hell do you mean “what dance”? The  _ Valentine’s Day  _ dance that the school has been advertising for weeks already? You do both realize it’s February now, right?”

Reggie and Alex exchanged looks again as Alex flipped on his turn signal to Flynn’s street. 

“Alex!” Flynn exclaimed. “You have a boyfriend! How did you forget Valentine’s Day?”

Alex shrugged, feeling embarrassed. “I don’t know! We just. . . never talked about it or anything.”

Willie had never been one for holidays, and from what Alex had gathered these past months, Willie far favored spontaneous moments of “wooing” Alex, as the skater had put it. Willie would do things like show up to dates with the most beautiful bouquets of flowers Alex had ever seen or surprise him at school with lunch. And Alex- he’d never had a reason to celebrate Valentine’s day. He just sort of forgot it was something he was supposed to care about now. As for forgetting about the dance, Flynn had a fair point; the school had indeed had posters up for weeks, the student government was already selling tickets, and as soon as February hit, Los Feliz had been decked out with strings of paper hearts, pink and red streamers, and way more decorations than anyone should ever need. It was impossible to miss, in reality. Reggie and Alex were just. . . not that observant, they supposed. 

Flynn rolled her eyes, “Okay, we’re circling back to that later. I’m not letting you have a first Valentine’s Day in a relationship without actually  _ celebrating Valentine’s Day.” _

Alex rolled his eyes right back, opening his mouth to retort. Before he could, Reggie nudged his arm to stop him. 

“So we’re playing the dance?” he asked, getting the conversation back on topic. At the mention, Flynn seemed to forget all about Alex’s lack of corporate-led romance, and her smirk reappeared. 

“Yes. You’re definitely playing the dance.”

“Okay? And how does that help us?”

Alex pulled up Flynn’s house, parking in the driveway and shutting off the ignition. 

“Well, you can’t exactly play a Valentine’s dance without a  _ love song.  _ You guys don’t have any and no one wants to hear you guys do a cover. And since Julie and Luke are the writers in the band. . . I guess they’ll just have to write one together.”

Alex and Reggie had both unbuckled their seatbelts, turning so they could comfortably face Flynn. 

“Flynn, we can’t just force them to write a song together,” Reggie frowned. “And believe me, we’ve  _ tried _ to get Luke to ask Julie out already.”

“No forcing, just being  _ highly _ suggestive. I can be very persuasive when I want to be.”

Both Alex and Reggie shuddered a little bit because  _ yes,  _ she really could be. It was scary some of the things she’d convinced them to do. 

“Plus, this might be our last chance.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about next Saturday being _Valentine’s_ _Day,_ Luke refusing to make a move, and me overhearing the guy Julie had a crush on for _years_ talking about asking someone- who was definitely Julie- out on a date.”

Reggie and Alex looked at each other, paling and wide eyed. 

“Shit,” they let out at the same time. 

They didn’t even want to think about what that might do to Luke. He’d never been so fallen for a girl before. Luke would be respectful, they knew, and not try to sabotage the relationship or become an asshole out of jealousy, but it would crush him. He’d pull away further and further from participating in band activities, act mopey and sad around Julie, and probably spend at least an hour a day crying to Reggie or Alex. And this was all assuming Julie said yes to the date. Frankly, they had no idea which way she could go right now. She seemed to be as head over heels as Luke was, especially if Flynn was getting in on the meddling- she was never Luke’s biggest fan, so her wanting them together spoke volumes- but she was still getting closer to Nick, who everyone could see had moved on from Carrie and was crushing on Julie. 

“ _ Exactly _ ,” Flynn said, picking up her backpack from the car floor and she scooted closer to the door. “So we get them to write a sappy love song together, then they have to perform it at the dance, they’ll realize their fucking  _ in love with each other _ , and the rest of us don’t have to suffer anymore. I’ll tell everyone that I booked you for the dance during band practice tomorrow- try to act like you’re actually surprised and didn’t know already,  _ Reggie _ \- and we’ll convince the dumbasses that they have to write a love song. Operation Jukebox will be a go.”

“Operation  _ Jukebox _ ?” Alex questioned, ignoring Reggie’s squawk of protest at Flynn’s accusation.

She just stared at him blankly, “Oh, I’m sorry. Did you have something better?”

Alex just shut his mouth, looking down at the car floor under Flynn’s gaze. She hummed as if to say  _ “that’s what I thought”,  _ then opened the car door. She darted forward, pressing kisses to both Alex and Reggie’s cheek, as per her usual goodbye, and got out of the car with a wave. 

“Don’t fuck up this plan for me,” she called out as she shut the door and went up the driveway to her house. 

Reggie and Alex turned back around in their seats, looking at each other. For a minute they sat in silence. 

“I hate to say it,” Reggie sighed, breaking the silence, “But I think it’ll work.”

Alex nodded his agreement slowly. “Force them to be around each other, literally talking about love, the inevitably of Luke staring at her like she invented music itself and Julie blushing herself into a mess. . . Yeah. It’ll work.”

With that, Alex restarted his car, both of them slipping their seatbelts back on as Alex pulled out of Flynn’s driveway. 

\----------

Flynn, Reggie, and Alex were all sure they’d never seen Julie or Luke as red in the face as when they suggested they write a love song for the dance. It took a lot of convincing- “No one wants to hear a cover song, Luke!”, “You guys are the best songwriters in the band”, “Really? You think Reggie could write a love song?” “Hey, shut up, Flynn-!”- but eventually they had both musicians agreeing. They cleared their usually Saturday rehearsal for the next day so that Luke and Julie could take the day writing instead. The other two found clever, not suspicious reasons at all to be completely absent from the rehearsal. Sometimes Alex and Reggie would sit in, offering their input and helping out since neither Luke to Julie knew how to properly write bass or drum parts. 

It was Wednesday now, and neither Alex or Reggie had heard the song yet. Luke and Julie claimed they were still working out the kinks. They didn’t know if that was true or not; all they really did know was that every time the song was brought up, the pair of them would grow red and awkward, trading looks that made Alex and Reggie want to bang their heads on a table. The two of them had finally agreed that they could hear the song during practice today. Alex and Reggie were almost nervous about it. What if the plan wasn’t actually working the way they wanted? What if they had repressed their feelings so much the song actually kind of sucked? 

Well, that was unrealistic, they supposed. Nothing they could write would ever be bad. 

Still, it was oddly nerve-wracking to not know what Julie and Luke had written. Frankly, the only reason they thought the two of them were being allowed to hear the song at all was that they needed their instrumentals to back them up. The plan-  _ Operation Jukebox- _ did seem to be working at least a little bit. Luke had perked up, smiling more over the last five days than he had since Julie and Nick became dance partners. He was actively talking to Julie again, who watched him with a soft smile every time he looked away. She had sat with them at lunch this whole week, too, and walked with one of them or Flynn to her classes instead of with Nick. Not that anything of them truly had anything against Nick- he was a nice guy and a brilliant guitarist- but it was nice to have their group dynamic at least starting to revert back to normal. Julie and Luke had even gone to the studio after school for practice separate from Alex and Reggie. They said they just wanted to get set up and everything by the time Alex and Reggie got there; Alex wanted to swing by his house before practice to grab a change of shirt- a girl in his last class period had accidentally dumped iced coffee all over him. Reggie had kindly offered to go with him instead of going home with Julie, partially out of hope Julie and Luke might get their shit together, and partially out of just wanting to laugh at Alex and his coffee stained shirt.

When they got to the studio that afternoon, Luke and Julie were sitting with their sides pressed together as they shared the piano bench, chatting over messy sheet music in front of them. They were trading smiles and looks, and the blush rising up Luke’s neck as Julie giggled over something, stealing the pencil from his hand was visible from miles away. Reggie and Alex stood in the doorway, completely invisible to the enraptured teenagers. Reggie was smiling at them, bouncing excitedly that their not-so-stealth operation seemed to be succeeding. Alex laughed under his breath, nudging Reggie to get him to calm down. He held his finger up to his lips, and then glanced at the pair. Reggie, as always, caught on to what Alex meant quickly enough, smiling widely. 

Moving further into the room, with Luke and Julie still completely unaware of their presence, Alex took a deep breath. 

“So how’s that song coming?” he asked loudly.

Both Julie and Luke- though the guitarist would never admit to it- shot up in the air a little bit, releasing yelps of surprise. The pencil, which had transferred back into Luke’s hand, went flying into the air, rolling to a stop at Reggie’s feet on the other side of the room. Reggie laughed loudly, and Alex just rocked on the balls of his feet, smiling innocently and satisfied as Luke and Julie both turned their glares onto him, Julie with a hand over her chest. 

“Dude, what the hell is wrong with you?” Luke hissed out, but Alex just shrugged in response. 

“So?” he continued. “Song?”

Julie shook her head, both annoyance and fondness clear on her face, gathering up the sheet music. “Yeah, yeah, calm down. We were just changing a few harmonies.”

Reggie and Alex shared a look; harmonies didn’t seem to be the only thing changing between their bandmates. 

“Sit down, we just want you to hear it all the way through the first time,” Julie said to the pair of them, gesturing vaguely to the couch. The pair obliged, sitting close enough to each other that they could whisper back and forth and gossip about their bandmates. To anyone else they were sure how close they were sitting- practically cuddling on the couch- would be suspicious, but thankfully they’d just always been those types of friends. If at least two members of Julie and the Phantoms weren’t cuddled together, then were they really spending time with each other? 

Julie moved from her mom’s piano to her own electric keyboard, and Luke surprised Reggie and Alex by grabbing not his electric, but his acoustic guitar. They’d asked for a love song, sure, but they had been positive Luke would make it as rock as he could get away with. They were surprised again when, after deep breaths, shared smiles, and a nod, they started the song and it was  _ Luke _ who sang first. 

_ “Step into my world. . .” _

They sat there enraptured the entire way through, not able to stop listening for a second. The blend of their voices was almost angelic, Luke’s gentle strumming and Julie’s fingers dancing around the keys creating a beautiful instrumental, and the lyrics were all just  _ incredible _ . 

The song Julie and Luke had written, Perfect Harmony, was quite possibly the most romantic song Reggie or Alex had ever heard. And it was _perfect_ for the two idiots dancing around each other. They could hear Luke’s infatuated rants over how much he was falling for Julie in the lyrics, could feel the smiles and looks of admiration that Julie was constantly fixing Luke with in the harmonizing notes, and could see the mutual fondness, wonderment, and- who were they kidding- _love_ passing between Luke and Julie poured into the lyrics. Julie had been glancing down at her sheet music, making sure her fingers were on the right keys, but Luke hadn’t once taken his eyes off Julie while they sang. The pair had locked eyes on the last note, and had yet to look away. 

Reggie and Alex had so much they wanted to react to, even just telling them that the song was amazing, but they stayed still on the couch, not wanting to break the spell that had fallen over the studio. 

The love song made Alex want to reach for his phone and call Willie. 

It was, eventually, Julie who looked away first, clearing her throat a little as she turned back to her keyboard, face red and eyes trained on anything but Luke. They could see the dejection in Luke as she did, his shoulders slumping a little bit and him shooting a hopeless look in Alex and Reggie’s direction. They both gave him an encouraging smile. The rest of practice was spent with the two of them praising Luke and Julie on their song, adding in suggestions for their own parts, and trading exasperated looks over how Julie and Luke always seemed to stay on the opposite side of the studio from the other. Each time they sang a bit of the song, it was the same intense gazes and electric energy, but as soon as they were done, the spell was broken and they were right back to being two awkward teenagers who refused to admit their feelings to each other. 

By the end of practice, though, they had a pretty damn good song. Reggie and Alex had insisted that neither of them be used as back up vocals like usual- this needed to be just Julie and Luke or there was no hope for Flynn’s plan. Reggie would take over Julie’s keyboard during certain parts of the song, play his bass in others, and Alex would stick to just his drums. The focus of the song was as much on Julie and Luke as the two could get away with without just flat out not playing with them. They had a plan, a song, two infatuated teenagers, and enough exasperation to last them the rest of their lives. Hopefully the dance would be the last ingredient they needed. 

\---------

If they thought the school had been decked out before, it was nothing like this. The gymnasium had been covered with transparent colored papers, creating a pink and red hue across the room. Streamers were, more tastefully than the hallways, hung around the room in shades of white, pink, and purple. Tables were set up with chairs and decorated with soft looking table cloths, heart-shaped confetti sprinkled on top. Heart-themed desserts, including chocolates and those stupid conversation hearts, were surrounding a giant bowl of red punch on a long, pink covered table. Everything you could think of that qualified as Valentine’s Day decorations were somewhere in the room. Honestly, it even looked like  _ mistletoe _ was hanging where you could sneak under the bleachers from a student thinking they were clever. It was ridiculously decked out.

But it looked  _ amazing _ . It was definitely a romantic, happy, energetic environment. As soon as they walked in, Alex, Reggie, and Flynn all turned to look at each other with smirks. It would be perfect. Exactly what they needed to kick Julie and Luke into gear. Hopefully, at least. After the moment in the garage on Wednesday, the two of them had gone right back dancing around each other and being as awkward as they had the whole past month. As they’d packed up their instruments today and made their way to the school, Julie and Luke hadn’t even spoken to each other. Julie had walked into the garage wearing a simple black dress and heels, but Luke had taken one look at her and completely frozen. Julie hadn’t even noticed, and Luke only moved when Reggie had physically reached over and poked him under the chin to close his mouth. Luke had gone bright red, and didn’t look at Julie the entire time they were packing up. 

Perfect Harmony was the last song on their set list, which started in about five minutes now. They had finished setting up their instruments on their makeshift stage, and now had some time for their usual pre-performance band circle and things. Alex was so focused on Operation Jukebox that he didn’t even feel his usual anxiety before getting on a stage, and he had plenty of reason to feel it. Willie, after finding out about the dance, insisted on being there, regardless of the fact that Alex would have to spend half the dance on stage. He had stopped “backstage” as they were setting up with his hair in a loose bun, a patterned button down and blazer, and the sweetest smile on his face as he handed Alex a single pink rose. The rest of the band had “ooh”ed and “aww”ed loudly and obnoxiously as Alex accepted the rose with a bright red face, kissing Willie’s cheek in thanks. He couldn’t believe his boyfriend, who had hated high school all his four years and never wanted to step foot in one again, had genuinely and whole-heartedly insisted on being here for this stupid dance. 

He was sure that it helped that Alex had told Willie all about Flynn’s plan, and the skater was highly interested in watching it play out. 

The band circle was the first time all evening that Julie and Luke had actually looked at each other, let alone touched each other. But they stood there, Julie in her black dress and Luke more dressed up than he ever got in a white button down and black slacks, it was like nothing mattered but them. Alex and Reggie stared at each other with a look of excitement, squeezing each other’s hands in solidarity as they ended the band circle, making their way on stage. 

Willie was right in the front, next to Flynn, with both of their phones ready to record the set. He shot a wink up at Alex that had the drummer blushing under the spotlights as he sat at his kit. The crowd in front of them cheered loudly as they took their places, Julie immediately going to her microphone. Her ability to work a crowd was unlike the rest of the band had ever seen, and they all admired her ability to make them feel every single note of a song. She greeted the crowd with matching energy, announcing their band. It took them a minute or so to settle down, and Julie gave a nod back to Alex with a bright smile. He returned her smile, then clicked his drumsticks together to count them into their first song. 

They were  _ killing  _ it on stage. The school was loving each and every song, their harmonies and instrumentals were practically perfect, and Luke and Julie were on fire. Anyone outside of the band would never know that they had been having issues lately. They moved around together on stage, shared the microphones, made what seemed to be never ending eye contact- their back and forth duet during Finally Free had Alex and Reggie smiling brightly at each other- and when it wasn’t necessary for him to be playing, Luke would dance with Julie, spinning her around on the stage until she was giggling through some of her lyrics. It was electric on stage, the way the four of them were playing together. Reggie and Alex could see that with every passing song, Flynn was getting more and more excited, gripping Willie’s arm tighter as they danced together. She hadn’t gotten to hear the song yet. Alex and Reggie had gushed and gushed to their plan’s mastermind about how amazing it was, but the band had kept the song itself on lockdown. No one but the four of them had ever heard even a measure of it before tonight. 

Alex and Reggie had, however, conspired with Flynn over how exactly the song would be performed. As Julie began thanking their crowd for their support and announcing that this would be their last song- a debut and the first and only slower tempo song they’d be playing tonight, they watched Flynn slip away for a moment. She reappeared only moments later, a smirk on her face and a thumbs up to the bassist and drummer. Then, Julie finished talking. 

Every light in the gymnasium dimmed, and the stage spotlights faded out until only two were left. One on Julie, one on Luke. Both shot Alex and Reggie a look of confusion, but the two played innocent, just shrugging and gesturing for them to go on. They could see that both of them were blushing a little bit, and looked nervous for the first time since getting on stage. But Luke moved, switching out for his acoustic guitar and situating himself so his microphone was even with Julie’s, only feet away. With a shared smile of reassurance passing between them, Luke started the song. 

_ “Step into my world _

_ Bittersweet love story ‘bout a girl _

_ Shook me to the core _

_ Voice like an angel I’ve never heard before” _

Their eyes were locked together as Luke sang, a small smile on his face that was filled with nothing but fondness and admiration for the girl in front of him. 

_ “Here in front of me _

_ Shining so much brighter than I’ve ever seen _

_ Life can be so mean _

_ But when he goes, I know he doesn’t leave” _

Despite the dimmed lights, the whole stage seemed to light up as their voices mixed together. They couldn’t tell what was going on in Julie and Luke’s minds, but on the way they seemed to gravitate towards each other in their already close distance told them that they weren’t focusing on anything but the music and each other. 

_ “The truth is finally breaking through _

_ Two worlds collide when I’m with you _

_ Our voices rise and soar so high  _

_ We come to life when we’re in Perfect Harmony _

_ Whoa-o-oh, whoa-o-oh _

_ Perfect Harmony _

_ Whoa-o-oh, whoa-o-oh _

_ Perfect Harmony” _

Like the first verse, Luke took the start of the second, Julie coming in perfectly to join him in a back and forth worthy of tugging at even the most cynical person’s heartstrings. By the time the next chorus came around, Julie and Luke were close enough to share Julie’s microphone, the only thing truly creating space between them being Luke’s guitar. 

_ “We say we’re friends  _

_ We play pretend _

_ You’re more to me, we’re everything _

_ Our voices rise and soar so high _

_ We come alive when we’re in Perfect Harmony _

_ Whoa-o-oh, whoa-o-oh _

_ Perfect Harmony _

_ Whoa-o-oh, whoa-o-oh _

_ Perfect Harmony _

  
  


_ You are the rhythm in my heart, yeah yeah yeah _

_ You are my brightest burning star, whoa-whoa-oh _

_ I never knew a love so real _

_ So real _

_ We’re heaven on earth _

_ Melody and words _

_ And when we’re together we’re in Perfect Harmony _

_ Whoa-o-oh, whoa-o-oh _

_ Perfect Harmony _

_ Whoa-o-oh, whoa-o-oh _

_ Perfect Harmony” _

Luke abandoned his guitar, sliding it so it rested on his back. As they finished out the final chorus, Luke held both his hands out to Julie, whose eyes sparkled as she took them with a smile. They’d managed to take a half step back from the microphone, close enough that it could still pick them up perfectly but far enough away that there was nothing to distract them from each other. Alex and Reggie had quieted their own playing, allowing the sound of Julie and Luke’s mixed voices to fill the gym almost completely on their own. The acoustics of the room may not have been the best, but the duet filling the air sounded almost angelic as the pair shared each other’s spaces, eyes only for each other. Alex and Reggie weren’t sure they were even aware there was a world outside of the other right now. In their darkened part of the stage, Reggie and Alex smiled at each other gleefully. They should probably take Flynn out for a fancy dinner after this. As perfectly as they’d started, Julie and Luke finished their song.

_ “We say we’re friends _

_ We play pretend _

_ You’re more to me _

_ We create _

_ Perfect Harmony” _

Applause rang out so loudly in the gymnasium as the last note finished that Alex and Reggie had half a mind to cover their ears. Luke and Julie, however, didn’t seem to hear a single bit of it. Reggie was looking down, fiddling with the strap on his bass, but Alex reached out after stepping from behind his drums, gripping his friend’s arm tightly to get his attention. It felt like the breath had completely gone from him, and even though this was their  _ entire goal _ , it felt like a shock to see. 

At the front of the stage, Luke and Julie had yet to take their eyes off each other, even as the crowd was still applauding them. Their hands were grasped tightly in each other’s hold, and it was like a magnet pulling them together. It was unclear which one of them moved first, but in an instant, Julie and Luke stood there, in front of the whole school, lips connected in a kiss. 

The school seemed to falter at that, shock filling the room, but the applause soon started right back up. Seems Alex, Reggie, and Flynn weren’t the only ones who’d been rooting for them all this time. 

Luke’s hands had pulled away from Julie’s to instead gently hold her jaw, thumbs swiping against her cheekbones. Julie’s hands now clutched at Luke’s waist, up on her toes so she and Luke could properly reach each other. From what everyone could see, the kiss was the most gentle, probably sweetest first kiss in existence. It wasn’t adrenaline filled like Alex and Willie’s first had been- Willie loved impulsive, reckless activities for dates, and one day after running through the streets of Hollywood, Alex just couldn’t hold back anymore and kissed him soundly, right there on the sidewalk. It wasn’t awkward or messy like the tales every band member's first kisses had been. This was just two puzzle pieces finally finding their way together. 

The kiss was by no means a long one- they were still in a school and it was only their first after all- but as the two pulled apart, they could see on their faces that Luke and Julie had completely forgotten that anyone was even around them. They pulled apart from each other, keeping their faces so close that they were breathing the same air, laughter and smiles falling from their lips. Luke closed his eyes, leaning their foreheads together softly, causing Julie to giggle and take what seemed an impossible step closer to Luke. 

They weren’t sure who it was, but some asshole in the back of the gym giving a loud wolf-whistle ended up being what broke them apart. Reggie and Alex traded looks like they could kill whoever it was, and judging by how Flynn spun around to look behind her, it looked like she just might do so. Julie and Luke almost jumped away from each other in shock, faces turning such a shade of red as they realized the whole school had their eyes on them that they matched the Valentine’s Day decorations. They smiled shyly and nervously at the crowd, who was still giving a few last cheers, but never took their hands off the other. Luke’s hands had left Julie’s face, once of his arms now wrapped around her waist. Julie leaned into the touch almost immediately, bringing one of her own arms up to hold Luke back. 

They both waved shyly at the crowd, and Alex and Reggie were both thankful to the lighting crew, who had raised the lights back up and turned off the stage spotlights so Julie and Luke were no longer the only thing to focus on. With that, Luke and Julie smiled out to the school once again, then turned around to Alex and Reggie. The four of them all kicked into gear, leaving the stage as a group as they always did. 

As soon as they were somewhere private- their makeshift backstage in the corner of the gym- all four of them seemed to start talking at once. 

“Holy shit-”

“Did that really just happen-”

“Alex! We did it, can you believe-”

“Wow, I-”

Eventually, it was Luke whose voice came out on top. Softly, with more feeling in his words than even Reggie and Alex could decipher, he turned to Julie. 

“Jules, I am so sorry. I shouldn’t have done that- kissing you without permission like that. And in front of the whole school-”

Julie cut him off with her own hands coming up to cup Luke’s cheeks. 

“Luke, it’s okay. Really. I, uh. . . I’ve been wanting to do that for a long time now.”

Her voice was soft, and Alex and Reggie felt bad for listening in. But really, they’ve been dealing with these two since  _ September _ , so they felt like they deserved this. Still, they took a few steps back from the pair, giving them some semblance of privacy. 

“Yeah?” Luke asked, sounding in awe. Julie smiled shyly, biting her lip a little bit in a way she did when she was nervous. “Me, too.”

Luke leaned in once again, pressing a chaste kiss to Julie’s lips. This time, Alex and Reggie couldn’t withhold their own cheers, exclaiming giddily and high fiving loudly. Both Luke and Julie turned to them, embarrassment on their face but laughter coming from their mouths. The drummer and bassist moved forward, wrapping the other two in a tight group hug. Julie and Luke squeezed them back just as tightly, and over Julie’s head, Reggie and Alex received a blinding, grateful smile from their best friend. 

“We’re really happy for you guys,” Reggie said as they pulled away from the hug. 

Alex nodded, “Like really fucking happy. We can’t even tell you.”

Luke kept up the grateful smile, and Julie moved back into their spaces, reaching up to hug them and press a kiss to each of their cheeks. 

“Thank you, guys.”

There was no actual band performing after them, just a DJ, so the four of them left their instruments on stage until after the dance was over. For the rest of the night, they allowed themselves to soak in the cheesy, obnoxiously loud energy of the Valentine’s dance. Flynn had bursted in only moments after Julie had thanked Reggie and Alex for their support, ranting and raving and congratulating Luke and Julie on finally getting their shit together. Willie had come swaggering in behind her, immediately moving into Alex’s space to wrap an arm around his waist and presenting him with another pink rose. When they moved back out to the dance floor, the rest of the school was kind enough to not crowd Luke and Julie or bug them too much about the song or the kiss. 

The pair didn’t leave each other’s sides the rest of the night, dancing happily and sharing sweet, loving kisses pretty much every minute. Reggie and Flynn- who had technically come as each other’s “dates”- spent the evening praising themselves over Operation Jukebox: An Official Success and goofing off around the gymnasium. Those two were certainly a force to be reckoned with, and part of Alex wondered if allowing them to get closer was such a smart idea for the rest of everyone’s sanity. Alex spent the rest of the dance keeping close to his boyfriend, trading less public kisses, holding on to each other tightly, and dancing in a tucked away corner where no one would really see them- he might be out and proud, but people at this school loved to stare and gossip, and Alex hated the attention. 

At the end of it all, the entire Valentine’s Day dance was a happy, joyful, romantic, cheesy, entirely wonderful success for all of them. They came out of it with no more pining Luke and Julie, a love song for the ages, two happy and sappy relationships, and two entirely pleased with themselves masterminds. Alex thought he overheard them conspiring over who to matchmake next- or maybe just meddle with, considering he swears he heard the names “Willie and Alex” pass their lips- but he didn’t pay it too much attention. Personally, he’d had enough playing romantic mastermind to last him a while. Everyone was happy.

Valentine’s Day was shaping up to be a pretty damn good holiday. 

**Author's Note:**

> I resonate with Luke a lot in this fic because I, too, am head over heels for Julie Molina <3
> 
> For all those wondering, they definitely finished the song like they did in the show.
> 
> I hope you all really enjoyed this one!! I know it was long, and it was honestly really difficult for me to finish writing, but I'm pretty happy with the finished product!! The timeline for this series is funky, I know, and if anyone is confused about when things are occuring, just let me know and I'll maybe post something to clarify. I know I write a lot of Ruke because it's just adorable and I love playing with that dynamic, but honestly?? Juke is a god tier ship and I love them so goddamn much. Plus I had to throw in some Willex moments because they are the true OTP. I will never ship Willie or Alex with anyone but each other <3
> 
> Heads up that the next installment will be very familiar to those of you who have read my other works, but now with some shiny new edits and a bonus chapter <3
> 
> Next up: Willie and Alex find out there are some consequences for breaking into a museum for a date.


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